Wednesday, April 30, 2008

I posted this for the other horse artists to see on the Equine Art Guild (http://www.equineartguild.com/ ) site earlier today, then thought I might as well share it here as well.

This shot is of a family group, belonging to a friend that I was visiting last fall. Of course now that I have revisited the shots I took then, I have the urge to get out there again and get lots more. She has a variety of donkeys, in addition to her horses and various other species, all in an idyllic country setting. I just need it to stop raining and I'll plan a trip with the camera.

This one is available in 5 x 7 (matted to 8 x 10) or 8 x 10 (matted to 11 x 14) print. Contact me if you are interested. Email me at judywood@sasktel.net, and thanks for looking.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Here is Zig Zag a little 3 day old filly.On the day of the shoot she spent the better part of 15 minutes at full speed and literally on her toes: bubbling with life and overflowing with energy.Ciao, Fancy Free and Footloose have been my way of studying and illustrating and understanding her baby "steps".The very interesting thing about drawing foals is the way in which you have to render their little muscles: they are so defined and tense yet underdeveloped. The other thing is the over-dimensional width and length of their legs...a little surreal. However, I really just can't help smiling when drawing them.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

This painting was the result of inspiration from a friend's One Hot Krymsun gelding, Toby.

My husband and I try to make it out to Quarter Horse Congress every year. The reference shots for this painting were taken in 2006 and I have just now gotten around to using them. Seems there are always things in life to occupy our time.. and distract us from using our time constructively. This painting will be sent to our friends as a thank you. I hope they enjoy it. They are fantastic people and I am so pleased to know them.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

There's nothing like the way a mule can "make your day". The moment my finger snapped this photo, I was excited. It's great to see a mule do this to you in person, but it's even better to have your finger on the trigger and capture the moment.

A mule and a border collie have similar senses of humor. It seems to me, they look at life in the same way. They have a "dry" sense of humor, one you develop an understanding of, when you live with them. They see life as a game, with themselves as the central players. Yet they're so happy to allow you to join in their sport if you so choose.

If you can take their antics with laughter, your life is incredibly enriched.Donna RidgwayMore Montana photos, and horse paintings on my websites.

Email Meif you have questions, or want to inquire about purchasing a photo or painting.

Friday, April 18, 2008

This is really taking it from the beginning. This is an image I always liked; it is of a young friend many years ago with our horse, Missy. Missy was an old campaigner-she had taken several young women through 4-H and other competitions, through personal hard times and the horse-crazy years of adolescence. She was a delight to ride and encouraged many young riders with her easy going nature and "push button" controls. We had her in her later years when our children were learning to ride with confidence. She was able to spend her final years with her original owner who had never wanted to part with her in the first place.This young lady and her friend spent many long hours at our barn- dreaming young girl dreams. (Some of us never outgrow those dreams!)

Stay tuned for the final image or follow progess on my blog: judithajohnson.blogspot.com

Thursday, April 17, 2008

is almost done! I added the store's sign today. The horses need a lead rope tied to the hitching post and maybe a barn swallow on the sign....and then I'll call it done!

If you've not seen my earlier post this is a life sized mural of a team of Amish Belgian work horses. This time of the year the horses can be seen working in the fields. Its an amazing sight! They are truly impressive animals! This mural is a permanent part of an authentic Amish Buggy Barn at Lehman's in Kidron, Ohio. I have painted a whole series of farm animals including cows, sheep, chickens, donkey, mare and foal and buggy horses as indoor and outdoor murals at this location. On July 12 we will have a Lehman's Local Artisan Festival in which I do demonstrations and offer more equine and amish themed art for sale.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

My riding instructor's husband is a keen driver, and every summer in early July, the stable hosts a fairly large combined driving competition that draws horses and drivers from several provinces. I usually try to get out with the camera for some parts of the event, which lasts a couple of days.

There is a very high-end lady with high-end horses who comes in from the Calgary area each year. I always admire her horse trailer, which is pretty classy. Looks like one the Queen would maybe like to buy if it ever comes up for sale.

This photo is a close crop I did of two of the Calgary lady's horses. She always drives warmbloods, and the year I took this shot she had a four-in-hand, which was the first I'd ever seen in real life. It was like something out of another era and very impressive. Of course the weather and lighting were terrible (dark skies and a lot of rain) the one time the four-in-hand was at the competition, so I don't have much in the way of shots of them.

I've done some playing in Photoshop, as is apparent. In real life, these horses were dark bay.

Feel free to email me if you are interested in purchasing this or any other of my art photos. Prices vary according to size and treatment, but the most commonly sold ones are 5"x 7", matted to 8" x 10" which are $22, and 8" x 10" matted to 11" x 14" which are $40, to give an idea of the ballpark. All are printed on matte photo paper with lightfast pigment inks. My email is judywood@sasktel.net Thanks as always for looking (and reading).

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

In this painting I have returned to a favorite subject of mine - the shadows cast by a full moon on a landscape blanketed in snow. I like the mystery of this piece, the silence of the night, the horse, alone but not lonely with only her shadow for company.

Monday, April 7, 2008

This is a little 8 x 10 oil on Artfix linen. This surface is incredibly smooth and the finished painting looks as if it should feel like velvet. I really enjoyed working on it for this little piece.

The painting is done from reference photos I took a few years ago at Saratoga. Saratoga Springs in New York is the place to be in August, if you're associated with the world of horse racing. This is another familiar scene on the backstretch - after training, each horse gets a bath and then walks to cool out. Before going back into the stall, the groom will wash the dirt off of the horse's feet and dry the legs. I know from my days as a groom there's something satisfying about a horse with nice, clean feet!

This painting is available. If you have any questions feel free to email me at lmshantz@lindashantz.com. If you'd like to see some of the in progress shots of this painting, be sure to visit my blog!

Friday, April 4, 2008

Today is the opening day for the Grand National Rodeo art show at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. A number of EAG members have works in this show for the first time, myself included, and we are all eager to see how the whole thing goes.Since this show is associated with a rodeo, I concentrated on western-themed images for most of the art I sent. This wasn't too hard as that's one of the modes I'm in anyways these days. The one I'm featuring today is one that I sent to the Cow Palace show. I call it Ranch Life.Most of the elements in this one were taken late last fall at a working cowhorse training ranch that I had just "found" an hour from where I live. Everything on this place is done in old-style classic cowboy fashion, which suits me well as far as the visuals go. Bonus is the people are very accommodating to my photo desires and super nice to deal with. I'm lookling forward to getting back out there for more shots as soon as the weather gets a bit more settled and the mud has dried.Copies of this photo or any of my others can be ordered by emailing me at judywood@sasktel.net Thanks for looking.

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